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September 2020
“Decluttering” Offers Organizing Business Opportunities

The concept of “decluttering” has become a popular attitude towards life in recent years. COVID-19 has caused us to not only spend more time at home, but also begin rethinking our personal and material relationships, with “decluttering” returning to our horizon.

 

Addicted to shopping, many urbanites are prone to be wasteful. “Decluttering” does the opposite, as we put our innermost being in order while deciding on which items to keep or discard. Sharon Lam, formerly a data analyzt, was obsessed with materialistic things for a while. In 2014, while chatting with her Japanese colleagues during a business trip in Japan, she realised that “decluttering” is not only an art of organizing life, but also greatly improves work efficiency and enables people to put aside distracting thoughts. 

 

Starting a business with decluttering techniques from Japan

Upon returning to Hong Kong, Lam felt that many people's organizing methods and mindset have made their already cramped home even smaller. So she resigned from her job and in 2018, she founded Home Therapy, an organizing company aiming to bring professional Japanese organizing techniques to Hong Kong. 

 

Lam experienced a difficult time in the early days of the business. She recalled: “At that  time, I had to draw reference from foreign companies and work alone. From the company's logo to its marketing plan, I did them all by myself. Moreover, I mostly used free platforms for production and promotion in order to save money.”

 

Tidying up one's home is also organizing one's innermost being 

After two years of development, Lam gradually realized that there is a lot of local demand for organising services. She also felt that “decluttering” is not only about housekeeping, but also about organizing one's innermost thoughts. She said, “There are two main types of customers: those who want a tidy home and those who want to reorganize their lives. 

 

Lam shared that she once had a customer who was hit hard by the death of her husband. She often couldn't find her belongings and even had to buy electronic accessories to look for her mobile phone. “She was very anxious to restart her life and tried different methods without success, so she asked us for help. “With more living space after her entire home was transformed, it naturally became convenient for the customer to invite friends home, thus helping her to get out of grief faster. Lam also gained satisfaction from it.

 

Home Therapy also teaches more people how to organize scientifically through talks and commercials. Lam said that some corporate customers want them to give talks to their employees on “decluttering the office” to enable them to improve work efficiency while paying attention to mental health and environmental protection. 

 

Hong Kongers' mistakes in organizing 

Lam said that Hong Kongers often make mistakes in tidying up their homes: “Buying organizing products is actually the first step in the wrong direction. The first thing to do should be to 'declutter' rather than continue organizing; second, when there is storage space, people tend to buy more stuff to put in and eventually they will buy more and more.” Citing herself as an example, Lam said that although she currently only has just over a dozen pieces of clothes and only three handbags and backpacks, she thinks that life is much happier now. 

 

Strong local market demand

While many households in Hong Kong have foreign domestic helpers (FDHs), 70% of the company's cases actually come from households with FDHs. Lam noted that FDHs can keep their homes clean and tidy, but they cannot help customers maximise their living space. Therefore, after completing their in-home organising services, they will teach the FDHs how to organize systematically so that the customers can spend their time on other  more important things.

 

Lam said that business was good and profitability increased year-on-year during the COVID-19 period. However, the shortage of relevant talents is the biggest challenge right now. She hopes that more talents will join the profession in the future to provide services and expand the market in a more professional manner.